The Ducks held a "mental day," essentially a pregame walk-through, and then will ramp the tempo back up Friday.

Venue: Moshofsky CenterFormat: Helmets only

Today was a "mental day" on the practice schedule, essentially a walk-through of all the plays the Ducks plan to run against Nicholls on Saturday, and the various subsitition scenarios they'll need to be aware of if certain situations arise. Mark Helfrich joked with the team that the only thing he wanted to see sweating was players' brains; I'm here to tell you that I would have broken a sweat had I been on the field today, but indeed the Ducks themselves never labored.

Some elements of today's practice did look similar to those I watched in the past, when practices were open to the media. With no pads on, scout-team defensive linemen wore padding under their jerseys so offensive linemen could still work on their initial "punch" at the snap, for instance.

Highlights: I'll refrain from including the highlights section in future Thursday reports, FYI. With the Ducks running through plays they'll use Saturday, there's no point in the risk of divulging too much information.

Other observations: Every day after the Ducks do some conditioning exercises, and before they go to midfield to stretch, a return man is summoned to field a ball in the air, usually while holding two or three others. Catch it, and the team proceeds with stretch. Drop, and there are consequences. Today, the "return man" was drop end Tony Washington. He fielded the "kick" with aplomb. ... The day began with a couple "clutch" field-goal attempts, with Alejandro Maldonado and Matt Wogan each connecting from 36 yards out. The curveball: Helfrich "iced" Wogan by calling a timeout just before the snap, not the first time I've seen him try to rattle the freshman that way this month.